The importance of putting in the game of golf is well understood. In an eighteen-hole golf course, the distance from one hole (green) to another varies. As a consequence, the number of strokes allocated to each hole as "par" varies from a minimum of three to a maximum of five or six. The minimum number of strokes allocated for any given hole will include one from a tee and two on the green. Any additional strokes included as par for a hole are to be taken from the fairway to reach the green. Consequently, for a par game, the player must reach a par-three hole in one stroke from the tee, a par-four hole with one stroke from the fairway, and a par-five hole with two strokes from the fairway. The net result is that for a par of 72 (for an eighteen-hole golf course), the average number of strokes allocated is four, of which half are allocated to putting. After reaching the green, one putting stroke is usually needed to lay the ball up close to the cup, even though one always shoots for the cup on the first putt but most often does not make the cup. A second stroke is then needed to put the ball in the cup in order to make par for the hole.
In both professional and amateur competition, as well as for individual recreational play, the object of the game is to complete the course with a total number of strokes as much under par as possible, and since the average number of putting strokes allocated for each hole to complete the course is two, it is very important to achieve a high level of consistency on the putting green. An object of this invention is therefore to provide a golf club for training a golfer in a particular style of putting that approximates a pendulum swing of the club in order to achieve a high level of consistency in putting on the green during the course of play.